Compared to those death-defying feats (especially seeking out the hard-to-find Afikoman), the Democratic governor’s address was fairly tame. He stuck to themes embedded within his other seven State of the State addresses, such as a desire to expand Medicaid, freeze college tuition and boost K-12 education spending.

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Listen: St. Louis Public Radio reporters Jo Mannies and Marshall Griffin as well as David Robertson, Curators’ Teaching Professor of Political Science at UMSL, dissect Governor Nixon's last State of the State Address and Republican response with "St. Louis on the Air."

Nixon devoted only 70 words of his address to what could be construed as “Ferguson-related issues.” By comparison, Nixon used about 330 words to talk about the greatness of Missouri’s auto industry and 187 words discussing the state’s tourism industry. And the Ferguson portion of the speech was about 26 words longer than a shout out to a quilt making company in Caldwell County.

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon, right foreground, meets privately with the Ferguson Commission before accepting its recommendations at a press conference in Florissant on Sept. 14, 2015.

Credit Bill Greenblatt I UPI

Within those 70 words, Nixon praised the passage of a municipal governance overhaul, struck an optimistic tone about bolstering training standards and called for changes to the state’s use of force statute. That’s it.

But Nixon effectively nixed that proposal in his speech: “I’ve been clear about my position: If you use the roads, you should help pay for them. What I don’t support is taking money that should go to schools, law enforcement and mental health, and using it to patch potholes.” Instead, Nixon used a transportation metaphor to reiterate support for a small gas tax hike, declaring that he’s looking for Sen. Doug Libla’s bill “to move into the passing lane and get to my desk this year.”

Given that Libla’s approach found favor with a number of Republican lawmakers, Nixon’s opposition to general revenue redirection could actually matter – especially if there’s enough legislative opposition to sustain a veto.

Nixon shakes hands with lawmakers before his final State of the State speech.

Credit Tim Bommel I House Communications

He appeared to allude to his fulfilled campaign promise in his speech: “There were some who doubted whether our students and schools were up to the challenge, who said the new state standards were too tough, too ambitious. I disagreed. I knew that if we raised our expectations, our students would rise to meet them. No gimmicks or voucher schemes – just great teachers, the right tools, strong communities, and a shared commitment to excellence.”

But with Nixon leaving office after the end of the year, the gubernatorial barrier to so-called “school choice” bills could weaken. Neither Democratic Attorney General Chris Koster nor any of the four Republican governor aspirants have made pledges similar to Nixon's. And several of the candidates have either vocally supported “school choice” (like Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder) or taken hefty campaign donations over the years from school-choice supporters like retired financier Rex Sinquefield (Koster, Kinder and former House Speaker Catherine Hanaway).

So it wouldn’t be surprising if the next governor talked a lot more in the 2017 State of the State about school transfer issue – and proposed changing the law in a lot different manner than Nixon.

Nixon didn’t specifically call for campaign finance limits, though he criticized the state’s no-limit system

Few would argue Nixon tiptoed around a push to revamp the state’s ethics laws, especially when he stated that “Missouri’s ethics laws are a disgrace – the weakest in the nation.” He also didn’t speak too favorably of how the state allows for unlimited campaign contributions to candidates, declaring that Missourians understand “that a donor who writes you a fat check expects something in return.”

Unlike Nixon, Attorney General Chris Koster does not support campaign contribution limits. And neither do the four GOP candidates running for governor.

While the lack of a specific line doesn’t negate Nixon’s years of advocacy on the issue, it does elicit some questions: Did he exclude it because it has no chance of passing? Did the governor want to temper such a call after the legislature called his bluff a few years ago? Or is it because he doesn't want to provide a lot of attention to the fact that Koster doesn’t support capping campaign donations?

In any case, even if Nixon had made a full-throated call for limits, it likely wouldn’t have mattered: The best hope for movement on that issue is through a ballot initiative.

Nixon’s request to regulate and tax the fantasy sports industry did not get a good legislative reception

One of the big surprises from Nixon’s speech was his call to regulate the fantasy sports industry, mostly likely lucrative ventures such as FanDuel and DraftKings.

Nixon wants to tax and regulate fantasy sports.

Credit Flickr

These services have provoked controversy throughout the country for different reasons, but clearly are attracting a lot of interest and a lot of money. Nixon contends regulating these sites could mean millions of dollars for the state’s education system.

“Let’s get real: this is gambling, kids are playing, and it’s completely unregulated. And there are lobbyists in this building who want to keep it that way. If you’re going to legalize it, we must regulate it and tax it just like we do casinos,” Nixon said. “This industry should follow the law, play by the rules, and pay its fair share.”

Needless to say, Nixon’s surprising addition to the speech did not get the warmest reception:

Online daily fantasy games? Really? That made the final draft of the state of State address?

That seems to confirm Nixon’s assumption that regulating fantasy sports will be difficult. But if the state needs more revenue, daily fantasy sports sites may not be the worst place to look – especially since it’s more fun to compete against your high school friends than millions of faceless strangers.

On the Trail, a weekly column, weaves together some of the intriguing threads from the world of Missouri politics.

The Western District Court of Appeals of Missouri has resurrected an initiative-petition effort to restore campaign donation limits in Missouri. But the proposal’s backers may not have enough time to collect the signatures needed to get their proposal before voters.

The lawyer for the appeals-court loser — wealthy donor Rex Sinquefield — noted that its side has 15 days to decide whether to appeal this week’s ruling to the Missouri Supreme Court.

To repair his reputation, Missouri Attorney Chris Koster has announced self-imposed guidelines on what campaign donations he will accept as he runs his office while also running for governor in 2016.

In a statement, Koster said he was advancing “sweeping new transparency measures’’ that he acknowledged were intended to address some conflict-of-interest accusations that have been leveled against him.

But he also suggested that the General Assembly consider imposing similar campaign limits on other public officials.